2024 Capability Portfolio Digital | Page 108

Clean Energy Capability Portfolio | Grid Transformation

Distributed Energy

Resources Laboratory

The Distributed Energy Resources ( DER ) laboratory is a facility designed for the safe testing of new technologies – including monitoring and communication devices , smart controllers , aggregation ( e . g ., Virtual Power Plant ), market participation software , and other innovative products under development – in a multi-platform environment that simulates real-world conditions prior to roll-out .

Competitive Advantage

• Previously , the only way to test the interaction of DER with the grid was to install devices in the live grid , often in customers ’ properties – this is costly and laborious
• The DERlab overcomes this limitation by providing a fail-safe testing environment – it simulates a distribution network that can be brought to a user defined operating state into which users can connect a collection of commercial and custom devices

Impact

• Develop protocols for multi-technology solutions to avoid early technology lock-in
• Streamline research and development
• Maximise the number of products that can be used across Australian networks

Capabilities and Facilities

• 9 x solar inverters
• 4 x battery inverters
• 2 x hybrid inverters
• 3 x 5 kVA 4-quadrant programmable power supplies
• 5 kW solar simulator for definable and repeatable DC generation
• 5 x solar PV strings mounted on the roof , including one with DC optimisers
• Solar PV string with micro inverters
• 6 x DC batteries
• AC battery ( inclusive of inverter )
• EV charger – bidirectional , single phase

Our Collaborators

• ITP Renewables

Successful Applications

• Integration of battery control devices with various batteries
• Behaviour of DER devices under voltage disturbances
• Australian National University
• Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program
• Evoenergy
• UNSW Canberra
• Performance of Vehicle-to-Grid based frequency support
• Islanding and reconnection of a grid forming inverter based microgrid
• Exploring the behaviour of Virtual Power Plants in weak grid conditions

More Information

Pooyan Alinaghi Hosseinabadi School of Engineering and Technology Visiting Fellow at ANU T : + 61 2 5114 5247
• Power Hardware-in-the-Loop ( PHIL ) studies of inverter control systems
E : p . alinaghi _ hosseinabadi @ unsw . edu . au

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